Estrella Resources has hit a major operational milestone at its Ira Miri manganese project in Timor-Leste, extracting more than 27,000 tonnes of ore for market appraisal, while confirming the presence of ultra-high-grade mineralisation across the emerging operation.
The successful programme, delivered during the challenging wet season, has built a significant inventory, including a premium high-grade parcel of 4,984 tonnes grading 49.38 per cent manganese.
While the stockpile grades are impressive, direct sampling from within the pit has been even more eye-catching. In-situ ultra-high-grade material has been confirmed at up to 60.22 per cent manganese, providing a clear indication of the project's quality.
The company says the extraction has materially improved its understanding of the system, identifying a structurally complex sequence of folded and "boudinaged" manganese pods, a geological term for ore that has been stretched and segmented into high-grade "sausage-shaped" lenses.
Estrella is now sorting its product lineup by evaluating high, medium, and low-grade stockpiles to meet market needs. Key sizing and yield studies are underway to lock in final export specifications. Additionally, the necessary export and trans-shipment approvals are in train for its first offshore shipments.
Notably, Timor-Leste’s national regulator has already approved the company’s port stockpile site, allowing the company to blend the ore before it’s loaded onto bulk carriers for prospective off-take partners to conduct a detailed assessment.
From an all-important geological perspective, the mineralisation at Ira Miri remains wide open below the current pit floor and into the walls. Previous induced polarisation surveys have flagged deeper chargeability anomalies that remain untested, setting the scene for significant potential exploration upside. To test this scale, larger geophysical surveys are planned for late May and early June to define follow-up drill targets.
Estrella Resources managing director Chris Daws said: “Ira Miri demonstrates Estrella’s first-mover position in Timor-Leste and the company’s ability to rapidly advance a manganese discovery from drilling to market appraisal extraction.”
The tempo of the Ira Miri development has been a standout feature for the company. Estrella only kicked off its maiden drilling at the project in May last year, meaning it has transitioned from a greenfields discovery to bulk extraction in just nine months.
Crucially, the company’s "first-mover" advantage in Timor-Leste has allowed it to establish strong local operating relationships, de-risking the project’s logistics chain.
Beyond the manganese, Estrella is keeping the wheels turning at its Werumata limestone project in Timor-Leste. Resource modelling is ongoing for a maiden JORC-compliant resource estimate, slated for the near term. The company is also planning accelerated regional exploration adjacent to Ira Miri, targeting potentially gold and copper-bearing occurrences alongside additional manganese.
For now, the company says its immediate focus remains on direct shipping, ore preparation and finalising the logistics for the offshore bulk vessels.
Simultaneously, the upcoming geophysics and follow-up drilling will provide the data to support a future category A mining licence application, unlocking full-scale commercial development.
It has been a whirlwind nine months for Estrella in Timor Leste - a brand new mineral frontier that only introduced its modern mining code in 2021 – with the company moving from the first drill bit kissing the ground to a 27,000-tonne stockpile in less than 12 months.
With the first shipment on the horizon and deeper targets yet to be tested, Estrella appears to have plenty of fuel in the tank as it ramps up from explorer to producer.
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By Murray Ward
